Mischa Eddington was the only daughter of Thomas and Cassandra Eddington of Belle Meade, Tennessee. Thomas was a retired Army general. His family had arrived in Nashville from London in the early 1800s and bought a cotton plantation just outside of Nashville in the little town called Fairview. Part of the Eddington family was in the textile business in England and another group of Eddingtons were scholars and scientists. Cassandra Templeton Eddington was a Southern debutante. She was the only daughter of Peter and Sandra Templeton of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Peter was a human growth hormone (HGH) researcher, and Sandra was an artist. Cassie went to Peabody, got her teaching degree, and taught art at Hillwood High School for ten years. She met Thomas in May of 1974 at a friend's wedding. They dated for about nine years and finally decided to get married in 1983. Mischa was born in 1985. Cassie and Thomas knew about the baby's condition long before she was born and after some soul searching decided Mischa would live the life of a normal kid, even though the doctors were skeptical. After running several tests the doctor said Mischa had Down syndrome. The Eddingtons soon discovered that Mischa was much more than normal; she was exceptional. Mischa's list of accomplishments was impressive by anyone's standards. She played the violin and enjoyed swimming, bowling, running, roller skating, hiking, bike riding, and ice skating. She was the Special Olympics Athlete of the Year for Division 1 in 1999, and the Special Olympics Athlete of the Year for the State of Tennessee that same year. She was a guest on the PBS show Tennessee Crossroads, and several local shows interviewed her before she graduated high school. She also participated in a Reba McIntyre video. Her artwork was featured all over the state of Tennessee, and in 2005 her work was featured by a gallery in Soho. She was an Easter Seal adult representative in 2006 and her artwork was used for the 2006 Down syndrome calendar, as well as in a special edition of Young Tennessean Magazine, which highlighted young artists around the state. Even though Mischa enjoyed the recognition she deserved, she wanted to study more, but didn't want to leave the Middle Tennessee area to refine her artistic talents. She decided to attend Watkins for art classes because it was close to home and it was small enough for her to focus on her work without a lot of outside interference. When she wasn't painting, Mischa enjoyed a very active social life. She was still close with some of her high school friends and had a fairly steady boyfriend, who also had Down syndrome, until he began talking about marriage. Excerpts from the Book: Living Behind The Beauty Shop ISBN# 978-0-9778130-4-9 Order a copy from amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Living-Behind-Beauty-Shop-Manogue/dp/0977813045/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1299684064&sr=1-2 or order an autographed copy from the author: http://www.livingbehindthebeautyshop.com/

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Connie,
United States,
OH
3/14/2011 7:20:05 PM
I have just ordered my copy and can not wait to read it. Thank you Hal Manogue!

Gwenn Resha,
United States,
TN
3/13/2011 10:40:20 AM
This is such a positive book about two people who just happen to have DS.

James Vozekas,
United States,
FL
3/11/2011 10:08:54 AM
As always Hal has captured the heart of the matter. Excellent job and I look forward to reading all of it.